Radioactive Waste: Waste Management

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much liquid radioactive waste has been discharged into the sea loch at Faslane in each year since it first hosted Polaris nuclear submarines; and whether he has received recent representations from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency on the matter.

Quentin Davies: Officials are currently in the process of collating the information held by the Department; I will write to the hon. Member once this work is complete.
	 Substantive answer from Quentin Davies to Dai Davies:
	In my answer of 12 May 2009 to your Question (Official Report: Column 753W), I undertook to write to you regarding how much liquid radioactive waste has been discharged into the sea loch at Faslane in each year since it first hosted Polaris.
	Resolution Class submarines, which carried Polaris, operated out of Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde at Faslane from 1967. Information regarding liquid discharges for the period 1967-76 is not held. The information relating to liquid radioactive waste discharged into the sea loch at Faslane since 1977 is provided at Annex A.
	It may be helpful if I put this information into context. Between 1967-93 the discharge level set by Her Majesty's Industrial Pollution Inspectorate was a total radioactivity limit of 37 Gigabecquerels (GBq), excluding tritium. Since 1994 the agreement with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has included tritium and has required the information to be broken out into the different nuclide groups. The liquid radioactive discharge limits since 1994 are as follows:
	Alpha Activity: 0.200 GBq
	Beta Activity: 0.500 GBq
	Cobalt-60: 0.500 GBq
	Tritium: 1000.000 GBq
	As you can see from the figures, the total liquid radioactive discharges into the sea at Faslane have not exceeded the limits set by the regulatory authorities, and in all cases are significantly below the limits; I can confirm that SEPA have not made any recent representations on the matter.
	I hope this information is useful.
	 Annex A
	
		
			  Table 1: Liquid radioactive waste discharged during 1977-1993 under agreement with Her Majesty's Industrial Pollution Inspectorate 
			  Year  Radioactivity  Discharges in GBq 
			 1993 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.055 
			 1992 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.037 
			 1991 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.110 
			 1990 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.084 
			 1989 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.032 
			 1988 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.030 
			 1987 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.046 
			 1986 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.085 
			 1985 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.tM6 
			 1984 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.240 
			 1983 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.110 
			 1982 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.055 
			 1981 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.040 
			 1980 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.211 
			 1979 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.012 
			 1978 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.016 
			 1977 Total Activity (excluding tritium) 0.100 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Liquid radioactive waste discharged during 1994-2008 under agreement with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency 
			  Year  Radioactivity  Discharges in GBq 
			 2008 Alpha 0.000 
			 2008 Beta Activity 0.019 
			 2008 Colbalt-60 0.005 
			 2008 Tritium 72.830 
			 2007 Alpha 0.000 
			 2007 Beta Activity 0.013 
			 2007 Colbalt-60 0.003 
			 2007 Tritium 66.400 
			 2006 Alpha 0.001 
			 2006 Beta Activity 0.006 
			 2006 Colbalt-60 0.003 
			 2006 Tritium 121.000 
			 2005 Alpha 0.002 
			 2005 Beta Activity 0.013 
			 2005 Colbalt-60 0.003 
			 2005 Tritium 115.000 
			 2004 Alpha 0.002 
			 2004 Beta Activity 0.005 
			 2004 Colbalt-60 0.007 
			 2004 Tritium 47.900 
			 2003 Alpha 0.015 
			 2003 Beta Activity 0.003 
			 2003 Colbalt-60 0.008 
			 2003 Tritium 93.700 
			 2002 Alpha 0.002 
			 2002 Beta Activity 0.035 
			 2002 Colbalt-60 0.009 
			 2002 Tritium 78.156 
			 2001 Alpha 0.002 
			 2001 Beta Activity 0.001 
			 2001 Colbalt-60 0.030 
			 2001 Tritium 39.710 
			 2000 Alpha 0.002 
			 2000 Beta Activity 0.008 
			 2000 Colbalt-60 0.010 
			 2000 Tritium 64.000 
			 1999 Alpha 0.002 
			 1999 Beta Activity 0.010 
			 1999 Colbalt-60 0.004 
			 1999 Tritium 69.400 
			 1998 Alpha 0.008 
			 1998 Beta Activity 0.020 
			 1998 Colbalt-60 0.022 
			 1998 Tritium 42.500 
			 1997 Alpha 0.017 
			 1997 Beta Activity 0.008 
			 1997 Colbalt-60 0.055 
			 1997 Tritium 72.800 
			 1996 Alpha 0.018 
			 1996 Beta Activity 0.178 
			 1996 Colbalt-60 0.087 
			 1996 Tritium 198.000 
			 1995 Alpha 0.014 
			 1995 Beta Activity 0.311 
			 1995 Colbalt-60 0.203 
			 1995 Tritium 93.900 
			 1994 Alpha 0.019 
			 1994 Beta Activity 0.115 
			 1994 Colbalt-60 0.064 
			 1994 Tritium 113.000 
			  Note: Figures have been rounded to three decimal places.